Something for the weekend. The complete nocturnes of Chopin. In many ways he led a sad, brief life of 39 years, with his beloved Poland seemingly permanently under the brutal Russian yoke and his personal life an unending disaster. But the music of the most brilliant composer for the piano who ever lived is a worthy legacy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-vywJo6nFg
Wonderful videos, thanks. Like every piano student I have struggled with his compositions, in my own case failing to master any but the “easier” of the Nocturnes, Waltzes and Preludes, and forget about the Polonaises. Sheesh. 😂
Personal favorites to play: the Waltz Op 64 in C# Minor and the very popular Noctune Op. 9, #2 in E Flat. Favorite to hear played by someone who actually knows what he or she is doing: the “Military” Polonaise.
My wonderful late brother-in-law came from Poland and my wife is Polish, and I, well, I must admit to having more Polish spirit and culture in me than my French name would ever suggest. Teasing my brother-in-law for many years took the form of responding to his love of Chopin with–“but he had to come to France to do his best work.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_A5EbBkqcQ
The late great Polish Jewish pianist Wladislaw Szpilman. From what I read, he played this piece on a final broadcast by Radio Warsaw just before the city fell to the Nazi forces in WW2. His story was “loosely” told in the movie “The Pianist.”
Lovely piece. I never truly appreciated Chopin’s genius until I learned more about him while homeschooling my kids. He had a sad, brief life and got mixed up with the notorious “George Sand” (can’t remember her real name now) but from what I read I think Chopin did manage to reconcile his soul with the Church before he died.
Thank you, Don.